The "Thumb Over Wrist" Grip, and Why I Will Kick Your Ass If You Try This!

The Captain's Journal  Do Not Hold The Gun This Way

Captain O Captain, thank you so much for providing a photo of this 'grip'.

I've talked about it from time to time, in reference to the training regimen I conduct monthly under the name "INTRODUCTION TO USPSA".

But, about three times a year I run into the following scenario.  Assume the standard USPSA/IPSC range commands have been given.  Here is the sequence of events which sometimes follows:

RO:  Are you ready?
(three second delay, then the timer buzzer is sounded to signify that the shooter should commence shooting)

(three to five second delay, then ...)
RO:  STOP!  STOP STOP STOP!

STUDENT: (still holding pistol facing downrange, finger on the trigger, feet too close together, elbows locked, leaning too far back, looking over his shoulder with a quizzical expression):  "What?"

RO:  Finger off the trigger. 
Unload and show clear. 
If clear, hammer down and holster.  
The Range Is Clear.
Now ...Your thumb.  Your support hand thumb.  It's ... it's ... it was locked over your wrist!

STUDENT:  Uh .. yes, I suppose it was.  So what? 

RO: That's not a safe grip. You can't hold your gun like that.

STUDENT:  Why not? 



RO: Because you're shooting a semi-automatic pistol.  You're aware of what happens when you pull the trigger, right?

STUDENT:  Uh .. well, the bullet goes out of the barrel? 

RO: well, yes, and ... when you shoot, the slide recoils.

STUDENT:  Slide? 

RO: Yes, that boxy looking moveable part on top of your gun.

STUDENT:  Oh, yeah. The slide thingie. What about it?

RO: Well, when you fire, the recoil causes it to slide back far enough to pick up the next round from the magazine.  That's why they call it the "slide".  Do you follow me so far?

STUDENT:  Uh .. yeah, I guess so.

RO: Fine.  And where does that slide slide back to?

STUDENT:  It slides --- back? 

RO: Yes,  Very good.   And what happens if your support hand thumb is on top of your wrist?

STUDENT:   The slide passes over it.

RO: Are you sure?

STUDENT:  Well, yes.  I've been shooting for (indeterminate amount of time) and I've never had a problem. 

RO: Perhaps this time might be different.  Suppose you're shooting a stage and the timer is running, and you're shooting against the clock, and you get a little excited, a little bit in a hurry, a little inattentive.  And suppose that your thumb doesn't ALWAYS end up way down on your wrist, as it was before.

STUDENT:     (I've learned to HATE people who shrug!)

RO: I'll tell you what happens.  Your thumb isn't way back on your wrist, it's on the back of your hand. Or your grip changes some other way, and your thumb is bent or otherwise sticks up a little higher than usual.  Than what?

STUDENT:   I give up.  What happens? 

RO: The next thing that happens, if you are very fortunate, is that the slide merely breaks your thumb.  If you are less fortunate, it removes your thumb from your wrist with much breaking of bone, cartilage, tearing of tendons and skin.  You get a nice ride to the hospital while I spend the rest of the afternoon looking for parts of your body that your surgeon needs to rebuild your FUCKING HAND! poor damaged hand.

STUDENT:  Oh.  Okay. I see.    So .. you're saying I should change my grip? 

RO: (silently: 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... 5 .... 6 ... 7  ... 8 ...9 ... 10) (aloud) Yes, I think that may be a good idea.  May I show you a couple of other ways you might try to hold your gun?

STUDENT:  Well .. okay.  If you think that's a good idea. 

RO: Um ... yes, I do think it's a good idea.  If I did not, I probably would not have said Stop STOP STOP!!!!!

STUDENT:  But I'm telling you, I've been shooting this way for years and nothing bad has ever happened to me before. 

RO: Oh, I believe you, of course.  But humor me.  I'm an old man, and set in my ways.

STUDENT:  Since you put it so nicely, I'll do it for you. 

RO: Thank you.  Now, suppose you keep your left thumb on the side of the pistol, and ...,.

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This is, of course, a thing of the past.  Since I've changed my introductory course documentation to emphasize that this is an ADVANCED COURSE OF TRAINING, I haven't had similar experiences.

  (Although I admit that before *_I_* got smarter, there were a couple of times when the bizarre scenario presented above was far too close to reality.)

On the other hand,   I might change my training regimen.  Perhaps if I ever again I see a 'student' hold his/her pistol with his/her thumb over her wrist, I might just cancel that student and require that he/she come back ONLY when he/she can present a certificate of completion from the club's "BASIC HANDGUN HANDLING" class.
 (I know the guy who teaches that class, and he owes me one.)

That would be the better way.  Fortunately, nobody who I have corrected on this 'fine point' of gun handling has ever (in seven years) shown up at a USPSA match, so I suppose it's a self-correcting problem.

(NOTE: I suspect there's something essentially wrong with this sort of "oh well, tomorrow's another day" attitude;  but I just can't quite put my thumb on it.)